Just A Dream
by kappie01
Summary: Little Emi has a horrible dream every night. A certain blonde haired man decides on something to help.


Images swirled in the young child's mind as she tossed and turned in her bed. She clutched the edge of her snail in her hands as her body shuddered in fright. A whimper broke out and echoed in the small bedroom as the images flashed in her mind. For the past three days, Emi would be sleeping in her bedroom on the Baratie and have this reoccurring dream.

_Emi stood on a blackened earth and looked around, purple eyes wide. There were trees around, but they were stretched and broken into terrifying shapes. The bark was black and dead, stretched over scarred trunks. Emi grasped the edge of her pyjama top, shaking in fear as unknown voices howled and wailed._

_"P...papa" she whimpered as the unknown voices continued their wailing._

_She took a hesitant shaky step forward and stopped when the ground began to shake. A gnarled hand burst up from the ground and Emi let out a scream as she fell back. The hand slammed down on the ground, and its fingers grasped around until they landed on the blackened ground. Emi scrambled back in fear as the cracked and long fingernails dug into the ground, causing deep gauges in the ground. The hand lifted itself up and Emi scrambled to her feet. She turned and ran as fast as her little legs could move, hoping to get away from the giant hand. A shadow loomed over her, and Emi looked back to see the hand coming down on her again. She tried to push her legs to go faster as the hand came closer and closer to smushing her._

_"Papa! Jii-jii!"_ _Emi screamed as she continued running, her lungs and legs burning._

_Tears streamed down her cheeks as fear continued pumping through her six year old body. A rumble sounded and the ground shook violently, causing Emi to trip and fall on her knees. She looked up in fear just as the hand came down on her with a mighty roar._

Emi's eyes popped open as her ears rang with a loud scream. Emi closed her mouth as she realized she had been the one screaming. She blinked and looked around, her entire body shaking from fear. This dream always felt so real. Emi took a shuddering breath and buried her face in her pillow, her snail clutched tightly against her. This dream was the scariest she ever had, and she just wanted it to stop. Through the bedroom door, she could hear pots and pans clanging and chefs yelling.

A knock on the door caused her to curl her knees to her chest.

"Emi? Is everything okay?" she heard Carne say as he opened the door.

"Go away" she mumbled through the pillow fabric.

"Emi come on, it's time for breakfast-" Carne started, but Emi threw her snail at the chef.

"Go away!" she screamed and buried her head further into the pillow.

Her body shook with fear as parts of the dream lingered in her mind. She wanted to curl up and never leave her bed again. Her stomach did need food, and let out a terrible growl. Sighing she slowly got out of bed and dragged her feet to the door. Carne had left it open after running from the snail missile, and she grumbled while walking through it. Rubbing one eye, she made her way to the kitchen and pushed her way inside. It felt like a dark cloud was over her head, and Emi grabbed a slice of bread with a scowl.

"Emi, that's not for you; that's for the customers" Patty said, and Emi felt her temper rise.

"I don't care" she pouted, and a shadow loomed over her.

She glanced up with a deep pout and saw Zeff towering over her.

The older man crossed his arms and stared down at the six year old. Emi glared back, bread clutched in one hand.

"Emi, put that bread down" he rumbled, and Emi pouted.

"No" she said, crossing her arms.

"Now."

"No!"

"Put that bread down now!" Zeff roared, and Emi flinched back.

"FINE!" she screamed and threw the piece of bread down onto the ground before running out of the kitchen.

She ran to the upper deck and sat against the railing, resting her chin on her arms. She didn't mean to scream at her jii-jii, but the dream was still at the back of her mind and it really scared her. Those three days began to drain the six year old, and she was really tired...but she didn't want to go to sleep. That dream would come back. For the remainder of the day, Emi stayed on the upper deck. As the sun began setting, Emi rested her forehead against her arms as she brought her knees into her chest. She would stay awake from now on. If it meant that she wouldn't get the scary dream, then she would stay awake.

"Where's Emi? She's late for her dinner" one of the chefs said, and Carne rubbed a sore spot on his forehead where a certain snail hit.

"She was in a mood this morning" he said just as Sanji passed by.

He noticed the six year old was in a bad mood, and had been for the past few days. The dark circles under her eyes began to worry the chef. He got an idea and began cooking, knives flashing and steam rising from the hot pans. With some food, he was sure Emi would feel better and he knew exactly what to make. Soon, he had a bowl of rice with pieces of fish in a sweet red sauce. The bowl steamed with heat and the smell wafted over the kitchen. With a grin, the blonde haired man walked out to the upper deck. He knew Emi would always go to the upper deck when she was upset. He opened the door to the deck and sure enough, there was the child leaning against the railing. He walked up to the six year old and sat down carefully, being mindful of the bowl balanced on his one hand. He put the food down in front of the child and lit a cigarette, inhaling the nicotine.

He blinked when Emi pulled her knees in closer.

"You need to eat" Sanji said, blowing out smoke.

The smoke disappeared in the sky with no word from the child beside him.

"Don't want to" came a mumbled reply.

"You barely ate these last few days" he said, nudging the plate closer.

"I don't feel hungry" Emi grumbled, but her stomach betrayed her as it let out a massive growl.

Sanji hid a grin as the child pulled herself into a tighter huddle. A hand snuck out and hesitantly grabbed the bowl before dragging it closer. She brought it into her huddle and hesitantly began to eat. She was very hungry, but the nightmare haunted her. Her stomach gurgled in approval of the food her papa made, and Sanji grinned.

"Carne has a good size mark on his head from you" he said, and Emi paused in her eating.

"Is...is he mad?" Emi asked, lifting her head from beneath her arms.

Sanji grinned widely.

"He deserved it for being a crappy chef" he said, causing a tiny smile to come to the child.

As soon as it came the smile disappeared, and Emi retreated back into the safety of her arms and knees. Sanji blinked before blowing out another smoke ring.

"Why the mood?" he asked, visible eye on the child beside him.

Emi's shoulders quivered the tiniest bit before she returns to her tight huddle. Her body rocked back and forth slightly as the sun continued its descent into the sky. Sanji waited quietly before Emi lifted her head from her arms.

"I can't go to sleep or else the monster hand will get me" she said quietly.

"Monster hand?" Sanji asked as Emi rubbed one eye with her hand.

"Uh huh. It's really scary and I don't want it to smush me" Emi said, pulling her knees in tighter.

Instantly the chef understood: the six year old had a nightmare.

"Emi, that's a nightmare. They can't hurt you" he said, placing a hand on her head.

"B-but it felt so real! It was big and black and I'm scared" she said, shoulders shaking.

"It does, but you just have to tell yourself it isn't real and can't hurt you" he said with a wide grin.

Emi gazed at her papa before nodding slowly.

"It can't hurt me" she repeated quietly, gazing at Sanji.

She let out a wide yawn and rubbed her eyes. Sanji got up from his sitting position and blew out more smoke.

"Let's go back. We have to make sure the shitty chefs haven't blown up the kitchen yet" he said as the six year old got up as well.

"Okay" Emi agreed quietly before grasping onto his hand.

The chefs of the Baratie watched as the blonde chef and the child walked past the kitchen. With small smiles, they packed up their knives as the last patron sailed away. The moon was beginning to rise, and Emi swayed on her feet as Sanji led her to her room. The six year old stumbled into her bed as Sanji put the fallen snail into Emi's arms. As he turned to leave, Emi let out a small and meek 'papa?'. Sanji stopped and glanced back at the child, who was clutching onto the snail.

"Stay please? I don't want to be scared by the nightmare again" Emi said, bringing the snail to her chest and holding it for comfort.

Sanji blew out a puff of smoke and obliged. He sat down beside the child's bed and Emi immediately shuffled closer to him. He laid a hand on top of her head as she fell asleep, snail clutched in one hand. Sanji gave the child a gentle pat on the head and pulled the blanket over her slumbering form. He knew she needed the sleep, and if it helped that he was there then Sanji would stay. It surprised him that she could grab his hand easily. When he left to join Luffy, Emi could barley reach his knee. He let a smile drift across his lips. She was growing in front of his eyes. He laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Just a couple moments and he would leave. Before long, Sanji was also asleep.

Emi slept deep and long, and had no nightmares that night.


End file.
